Robert Downey Jr. straps on the suit for one more super outing

By Devin D. O’Leary

If nothing else (and there’s plenty else), the record-breaking release of Iron Man 3 proves beyond a shadow of a doubt what last summer’s The Avengers already established: that Marvel has found a perfect way of translating its comic book universe to the big screen. While cross-town rival DC struggles to establish any movie franchise (other than Batman), Marvel has cranked out a string of films (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers) which exist in the same interconnected universe. The ties may be strong or light from one film to the next, but this new wave of Marvel films does what no other movie series has managed.

Jazz Rags

Late last month, the Off Broadway vintage clothing store and costume shop in Nob Hill paid tribute to an appearance by actress Tippi Hedren at the KiMo Theatre. They did so by turning the store’s display window into a fashion show inspired by Hedren’s iconic appearances in classic Alfred Hitchcock movies. Keeping on the cinematic tip, Off Broadway has now transformed their Central Ave. storefront into a salute to director Baz Luhrmann’s version of The Great Gatsby (hitting theaters this Friday, May 10). The display features authentic 1920s fashions inspired by the jazzy film. Check it out throughout May at 3110 Central SE.

“Hemlock Grove” on Netflix

By Devin D. O’Leary

At the beginning of this month, movie download service Netflix let its contract with Starz expire. The end result was the loss of almost 2,000 films from the Warner Bros., MGM and Universal libraries. This occurred largely because Warner Archive wants to set up its own instant download service. Soon you’ll be able to pay every studio in Hollywood $10 a month to access films out of their library—and only their library. But the other reason for the loss is that Netflix figures nobody wants to watch a bunch of old movies anyway, so who cares? The kids today are only interested in new content. So Netflix is changing its plan to serve as an alternative to video stores (which no longer exist anyway) into something new: serving as an alternative to HBO and Showtime.